Francisco Tavoni Venezuela, b. 1987

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

Tavoni established his artistic practice following a personal truth-seeking inquiry into his own identity. He has been curious about its formation, has observed and challenged its limitations, and eventually accepted its morphing nature.

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Marked by a signature use of textiles as analogue filters, his images point to the interwoven manners in which life tends to occur and how identity can be shaped around multiple
gestures and movements, people and places.

Veiled by delicate fabrics, the figures standing before the camera are barely decipherable. Unable to answer questions like who is portrayed, where they were and when the image happened, all that the viewer is left with is the outline of a body or a face – the blurred, vibrating boundaries of a person. Using a masterful lighting technique and a dramatic take on color whilst clearing away all contextual facts, the resulting images speak of atmosphere, aura and presence.

Most recently, Tavoni has been pairing portraits of human figures with shapes akin to other kinds of life – flora and fungi – inviting a confrontation with our views on how we relate to other species and joining other voices for a collective expansion away from human-centric vision.

Francisco Tavoni is a multidisciplinary artist working with photography to navigate questions concerning identity, human relationships and social stereotypes.